Faculty Interview: Sandy Lu

By Jason Henry 

Are you excited? We certainly are! Why shouldn't we be? The 2015 Pikes Peak Writers Conference is just around the corner! It has been an absolute pleasure recruiting the incredible faculty that we have lined up for you this year and the workshops they will be teaching are proving to be just as amazing.

Pikes Peak Writers Conference is known as one of the best and friendliest conferences for many reasons. One of those reasons is that we provide as many opportunities as possible to not only learn from our faculty, but to get to know them. Keeping in the spirit of that very statement, we interviewed all of our faculty members to get inside their heads just a little. Really, we don't see the point in waiting until April. Do you?

Over the weeks to come, we will be posting those interviews along with the responses right here on the PPW Blog. Be sure to check in on Facebook and Twitter as well! We hope you enjoy reading these brief Q&As as much as we have!

Sandy Lu: Agent - L. Perkins Agency 

1. What are the most compelling elements you feel are necessary for a good read?
A unique voice, three-dimensional characters and a compelling plot.

2. What do you see as the pleasures and difficulties of being a writer/artist in today's world?
The pleasures: finding people who respond to your writing positively, seeing your creation come to life.

The difficulties: more competitions (not just against other writers but also other media), more distractions, finding people who respond positively to your writing, and actually making a living writing full time.

3. What is the best career/writing advice someone has given you?
Read everything. Keep honing your craft. Be patient. Never give up.

4. Would you pass that same advice on or alter it?
Definitely. Also, only do it if you love it. Otherwise it’s just too hard.

5. What do you love most about your career?
Discovering new talents. Making someone’s lifelong dream come true.

6. What is something you wish everyone knew (or didn't know) about you?
I play the piano. And I love to sing. Also, I’m a damn good cook!

7. Which fictional character do you relate to the most, and why?
Sherlock Holmes. I observe and analyze everything. Also, I’m a bit of a misanthrope.

8. What character would your friends/family pick for you?
I don’t know if this is still true, but my nickname in junior high was Garfield. Yes, the cat.

Quick Qs:

Pen or Keyboard? Pen.

Plotter or Pantser? I’m not a writer, so I don’t think this applies. 

Book or E-Book? Book for pleasure. E-Book for work.

Spicy or Mild? Depends on my mood.

Sunrise or Sunset? Neither. Midnight.

Mr. Rogers or Sesame Street: No preference. Perhaps because I didn’t grow up in America.

Facebook or Twitter? Facebook for friends and family. Twitter for publishing peeps.

Sandy Lu has been a literary agent at the L. Perkins Agency since 2009. She holds BAs in psychology and sociology, with minors in music, business, and Japanese. Prior to becoming an agent, she was a Ph.D. candidate in Social and Personality Psychology and worked as a business/operations manager in the theater industry. She is a native Mandarin Chinese speaker.

Sandy is seeking submissions that draw her in with a unique voice and a good yarn that will make her miss her subway stop and keep her up at night. She particularly loves all things historical and anything with a supernatural bent. In fiction, she is looking for dark literary and commercial fiction, mystery, thriller, psychological horror, historical fiction, fantasy, and YA. In non-fiction, she is looking for narrative non-fiction, history, biography, memoir, pop science, psychology, sociology, pop culture (music/theatre/film), and food writing. She does not represent romance, poetry, children’s picture books, how-to/self-help, parenting, religion/spirituality, and sports.